The Necromancer Who Was Despised

There must be a reason why the names of the demon hunters are so renowned.

Since it’s impossible to fully grasp their power, they must be thinking of taking us with them.

Luckily, the map had the location of the latest contact marked on it.

The expected route of our allies was also written on it, and if this map were to be leaked to the Black Star faction, it would be game over for the demon hunters.

The primal spirits could be seen right away.

As soon as we arrived, Tinus forcibly summoned the primal spirits and attached one to each of us.

“…Amazing.”

Artina was poking at the primal spirit attached to her.

It would pass through her hand if she simply touched it, but if she coated her hand with mana, she could touch it, playing with it like a cat with a toy.

The form of the primal spirit was very peculiar.

It looked like a dandelion seed, floating and moving about as if carried by the wind.

Artina was touching it, and it seemed to be afraid of us, trembling with fear.

When Artina asked about it, Tinus replied nonchalantly.

“They’re afraid because they were forcibly summoned and attached. It’s only natural. You, who use mana, are better off, at least.”

The primal spirit attached to me was… not even trying to escape, just shivering with fear.

“…So, we should just treat the primal spirits as usual.”

“That’s right. If we use this method, it’ll only backfire. Primal spirits have basic emotions, after all.”

We can’t think too much, but we can distinguish between people, and even though they’re unpredictable, they have emotions.

I was amazed, but I didn’t have the desire to touch it like Artina did.

However, the Dark Elves seemed to be curious, like Artina.

“Can the undead just move on their own?”

“They’re connected to me, so it’s fine.”

It was as if they were saying that even the gods of the forest couldn’t do anything about it.

Having Tinus with us was reassuring in many ways.

“Then, let’s depart.”

To punish the Black Star, who had infiltrated the empire.

***

“…We lost.”

“…Lost? You didn’t just let them go?”

“I apologize.”

The young man’s report made the boy’s face contort in anger.

“Those annoying guys. They can’t even enter the depths, but they’ve made this place their own.”

The boy’s eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

“What’s the extent of the damage?”

“Four Class 4s were lost. One of them is severely injured and currently undergoing treatment….”

“What about the others? What about Kimeria?”

“She’s dead.”

“Huh. I told them to value their lives more than mine, but… is one of them still undergoing treatment?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the treatment? Just bring them here, barely alive. I’ll take care of it.”

The man’s face showed a faint fear at the boy’s words, but it was short-lived as he bowed his head in obedience.

“Extract the usable parts from the dead and hand them over to the Tivanec guy. Make them into skeletons and use them as laborers for life.”

“Understood, Lord Sold. And…”

“What else?”

“We’ve confirmed that a large group has entered from outside.”

“Who is it? Could it be the army?”

“No, it seems to be a massive undead force…”

“Damn it, they’ve really come. Those crazy people.”

Sold’s serious expression deepened as he muttered to himself.

“The kingdom wouldn’t just let them go… Could it be that they have a way to block the Great Forest’s barrier? No, just for a moment.”

The boy, Sold, seemed to be thinking of something, and soon a wicked smile spread across his face.

“Contact our contractor. We’ve found a way to deal with those annoying flies.”

◈ Black Star

“It’s not going to be easy.”

As I moved to join the beast hunters for the first time, I realized that it wasn’t as easy as I thought.

When I arrived at the expected location, I found that they had already left.

“What’s with those dark wizards, struggling so hard?”

“Hmm?”

“A few people were killed around here. The beast hunters, they can’t even exhibit their personal strength, right? That’s correct?”

Artina said it was more like they were being chased, but instead, they were reversing the situation and hunting their pursuers.

The one who answered her question was surprisingly Bert, the dark elf elder.

“Elves also exhibit powers beyond themselves in the forest. Fundamentally, they are hunters, so it’s not impossible.”

The hunters create an advantageous environment and utilize it, making it extremely difficult to fight them in their prepared location.

“They even use primal spirits, don’t they? Although they may not be as strong as regular spirits, a spirit user is still a spirit user. Don’t underestimate them.”

It was a strange scene where the dark elf was defending the beast hunters of Hectio.

“Hmm… Didn’t we say that the beast hunters and the Hectio royal family don’t exchange information?”

“That’s right. It feels like the beast hunters are reporting unilaterally. And even that is irregular.”

They only send information when they’re at ease and safe, preparing for unexpected situations.

Therefore, it was highly likely that the other side didn’t know of our existence.

“Then, won’t they attack us instead?”

Just looking at us, we’re a group of dark wizards. Especially since we’re carrying a large undead force, it was unavoidable that they would misunderstand.

How could they guess? The support troops sent by the kingdom alliance are dark wizards.

The Hectio personnel didn’t accept it immediately either.

If they’re fighting against the dark wizards of the Black Star in real-time… it’s not going to be easy.

We had brought a royal decree with the kingdom’s seal to prove our identity, but the process of showing it seemed tedious.

“There’s no choice.”

We need their help.

Fundamentally, the beast hunters’ front yard is right here.

Moreover, since we’ve been fighting continuously, we should have a lot of information.

‘Although we’ve identified Sol’s position, it’s not like they’re the only ones.’

So, we chose a relatively safe area where the demon hunters might have moved to and headed in that direction.

We easily dealt with the small monsters, the undead, along the way.

This was also something Tinus did, not me.

However, our expectations were proven wrong.

And it was a good thing.

When we arrived near our target location, a person who seemed to be a demon hunter from Hectio’s faction appeared before our eyes.

At first, I thought it was a trap.

Since we had anticipated ambushes a few times, I thought it was ridiculous when they initiated a conversation.

But soon, I realized he was a genuine demon hunter.

He wasn’t alone.

If a fight broke out, many people would be waiting to rescue him.

So, my suspicions disappeared in an instant.

“What are you people?”

“Are you from the Hectio Kingdom? Are you demon hunters affiliated with the kingdom?”

“…There’s no powerful dark mage like this in our kingdom. Are you saying that’s what you are now?”

“My exact affiliation is the Superten Kingdom. I’m here as a supporting force.”

“A supporting force?”

“That’s right.”

As soon as the command confirmation was done, other demon hunters began to reveal themselves one by one.

The number wasn’t that large.

It seemed that only some of the demon hunters were acting separately.

The reason became clear soon.

“You’ve been marked.”

Thanks to the king’s order to actively cooperate with us, their tone changed.

“…What?”

“The dark mages from the Black Star faction have been tracking your trail. It seems they were trying to use you to capture us.”

It was a trap, and we didn’t notice.

The reason was simple.

“Since they’ve been following our trail from a distance, it was hard to notice.”

Furthermore, many people were still struggling to adapt to the mana of the forest.

Thanks to the elemental spirits Tinus had attached, we didn’t have any issues with our actions, but adaptation was a different story.

‘…It’s an unavoidable situation.’

At the same time, I accepted it.

We move in large units.

Since we have large monsters with us, it’s inevitable that we’ll leave many traces, and even if they don’t get close, they can still track us.

Of course, we could minimize our traces or not leave any.

I had the fragments of dimensions, and Atinana Kyle, who could erase our traces, existed.

However, I didn’t feel the need to do so, and I judged that it would be difficult to respond if I were attacked first, so I didn’t.

The result is now.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, and I muttered briefly.

“Shouldn’t we at least express our gratitude?”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you the ones who didn’t attack us first because of them?”

“…That’s correct. Clearly, they’re handling the undead, and there were pursuers behind them. And those pursuers are definitely from the Black Star… I don’t know what they’re doing, though.”

So I gambled with my life and spoke first.

Thanks to that courage, I was able to avoid a pointless fight.

“Then, let’s at least exchange greetings.”

If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t know, but I didn’t intend to leave any loose ends.

I quickly ordered my team to capture the dark mages.

However, the other side was quick-witted.

They attempted to escape, and when they realized they couldn’t, they took their own lives.

“These guys are crazy.”

I didn’t expect them to commit suicide even after being caught. Moreover, they didn’t hesitate at all.

“…Guide me to the leader of the demon slayers.”

“Understood.”

As I followed the demon slayers and requested information sharing, they naturally provided information about the Black Star they faced.

It seemed that there were at least three leaders involved in this invasion.

Each of them had their own forces, and their relationships with other forces were neither good nor bad.

It was rare for dark mages to get along, so this was a miracle.

“I suppose they worked together and launched an invasion.”

“We usually act individually, but lately, we’ve been working together frequently because you’ve been making our lives difficult.”

“That’s impressive. Instead of being chased, you’re the ones doing the hunting.”

“You’ve noticed. Yes, we’re hunting….Sometimes, monsters swarm into the castle, and it gets frustrating….

“Don’t worry, we’re handling it well. Those guys used to attack the castle, too.”

I pointed at the undead and said, and they nodded in agreement.

“The hunting isn’t easy, though. Our main forces, the spirits, are relatively weak, so it’s tough. And with the Chimera around… it’s not easy.”

Chimera.

I asked about the Chimera’s level.

The demon slayer’s brow furrowed at my question.

“It’s a terrifying creature. Fast and has strong vitality. It can even recover by draining the dark mages’ powers when injured….”

They added that they were using that to continuously attack the Chimera and exhaust the dark mages.

“…Treating them like tools.”

It seemed they didn’t consider low-ranking mages to be equal humans because they were easy to recruit and grew quickly.

“I don’t know, but…”

As we chatted, we arrived at our destination and met the leader of the demon slayers.

“Greetings, everyone. I’m Quahar, the leader of the demon slayers.”

The leader of the demon hunters.